In the first scam, victims receive unsolicited phone calls or e-mails that claim to be from a customer service, help desk representative or technician from Microsoft or other well-known technology companies. During those communications the scammer claims that the consumer’s computer is infected with a virus and offers to help by gaining remote access to their machine in order to analyze and upgrade the computer’s security software. Consumers have reported that the scammers ask for credit card information so they can bill for the fraudulent services.

Biden’s office also warned Delawareans Thursday about another scam being reported in other states in the region. In this scam, consumers receive unsolicited calls or text messages warning them of a problem with their bank’s debit cards. In reality, these are attempts to trick consumers into providing personal financial information to criminals. The unsolicited calls and texts report that the consumer’s debit card is locked and direct them to call a certain phone number to unlock the card. When victims call the phone number as directed, the scammer obtains their account information in order to “unlock” their cards.

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